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Annotated Bibliography
Research Question (RQ):
In what ways are schools providing resources to LGBTQ+ students and promoting acceptance of these youths?
Source #1:
Research on Adolescent Sexual Orientation: Development, Health Disparities, Stigma and Resilience
MLA/APA Citation:
Saewyc, Elizabeth M. "Research on Adolescent Sexual Orientation: Development, Health Disparities, Stigma, and Resilience."Journal of Research on Adolescence (Wiley-Blackwell), vol. 21, no. 1, Mar. 2011, pp. 256-272. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00727.x.
Author/Journal Qualifications:
Dr. Elizabeth M. Saewyc is a professor at the University of British Columbia School of Nursing & Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine. She earned her PhD from the University of Washington School of Nursing. Much of her research and teachings have been geared towards youth and adolescent health care and education, especially those youths who have faced stigma and violence and trauma and how these conditions have affected the growth and resilience of these youths.
Main Claim:
Many adolescents of a sexual minority face stigma and discrimination, which leads to them to increase their chances of engaging in high-risk behaviors. By removing this discrimination and encouraging acceptance within school environments, LGBTQ+ youths are more likely to succeed in school.
Subclaim 1: Exposure to stigma and discrimination increase the chances of a sexual minority’s inclination to high-risk behaviors, such as drug abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behaviors, and suicide.
Evidence in the form of informational quotations with page numbers:
Quotation 1: “Harassment or bullying at school, including physical assault, has been reported at consistently higher rates among LGBQ students compared with heterosexual peers across North America and other countries” (Saeswyc 264)
o My explanation/interpretation/discussion: LGBTQ+ youths are more likely than their heterosexual classmates to face discrimination and harassment in their school settings. Because stigma and discrimination does increase a youth’s chances of high-risk behaviors, then by exposing these LGBTQ+ youths to bullying in their school setting will therefore increase their chances of high-risk behaviors.
Quotation 2: “One of the most common explanations for health disparities among sexual minority adolescents is their exposure to stigma and discrimination, especially enacted stigma, that is, being targeted for bullying and harassment, exclusion, and violence. A number of studies have directly tested links between harassment or stigma and increased rates of health risk behaviors, including mental health problems such as depression, PTSD, and suicidality, substance use and abuse, and risky sexual behaviors, including teen pregnancy” (265)
o My Explanation/interpretation/discussion- It has been studied numerously that there is a direct link between harassment and increased rates of health risk behaviors in teens, especially teens of sexual minorities because they are more likely to face discrimination than heterosexual classmates.
Subclaim 2: Despite stigma and discrimination, there are some protective factors such as school connectedness that will help a LGBTQ+ youth overcome harassment and emerge as healthy, fulfilling lives.
Quotation 1: School connectedness has been shown to reduce odds of depression and emotional distress. Family connectedness, school connectedness, and feeling safe at school have been linked to lower levels of suicide attempts. Both family and school connectedness have been associated with lower odds of teen pregnancy involvement, and safety at school and caring teachers have been associated with better school performance (266)
My explanation/interpretation/discussion: Safe and accepting environments for students have been shown to reduce the chances of a LGBT youth’s risk for depression and other high-risk behaviors. Furthermore, family and school acceptance has been shown to increase performance in school, thus showing how important it is to a youth’s education that they are in environment that is tolerant and accepting of them.
Quotation 2: “LGB students in schools with gay – straight alliances (GSAs) or supportive antihomophobia policies and training for school staff reported less harassment in school and lower odds of suicide attempts” (267)
My explanation/interpretation/discussion: By having a club that specifically encourages acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth and training for the staff that is specific to helping these students out, we create a safer environment for these students and it will help lower chances of suicide and other high-risk behaviors.
Subclaim 3: There needs to be a greater focus on gay-included curricula and safety interventions in schools so that LGBTQ+ youths are less likely to engage in high-risk behaviors.
Quotation 1: “Even given that the highest rates of HIV infection are among young men who have sex with men, often identified as gay and bisexual, there are almost no interventions focused on HIV risk behavior prevention among LGB adolescents” (267)
My explanation/interpretation/discussion: Men who have sex with other men are at one of the greatest risks of contracting HIV. Despite this, young LGBTQ+ adolescents are not taught how to prevent contracting HIV or how to engage in safe sex.
Quotation 2: “In 2001, Blake et al. used the 1995 Massachusetts YRBS to compare LGB students who attended schools with gay-sensitive HIV education to LGB students who attended schools without such programs; they found that sexual minority students in schools with gay-sensitive curricula were less likely to engage in sexual risk behaviors, reporting fewer sexual partners, and lower rates of substance use with sex” (267)
My explanation/interpretation/discussion: In a study done in 2001, it was found that schools that included gay-related curricula to their HIV and sexual education compared to schools that do not, students that included gay-curricular showed lower rates of high-risk sexual behaviors.
How does this source help answer my research question? How does it compare/contrast to other sources? How does it change or expand my ideas about my topic?
This source was helpful to my research because it helped show how discrimination and stigma affect a youth’s behavior and how there are ways to prevent this. This source also gave me multiple other research and studies on my topic, which helps expand my research to find these other sources and learn what those researchers concluded.
Source #2: LGBT Students Want Educators to Speak up for Them
MLA/APA Citation:
Young, Abe Louise. “LGBT Students Want Educators to Speak up for Them.”Educational Horizons, vol. 91, no. 2, 2013, pp. 8–10. SAGE Complete, doi: 10.1177/0013175X1209100204
Author/Journal Qualifications:
Abe Louise Young is an independent educator and consultant in Austin, Texas, and author of “Queer Youth Advice for Educators: How to Respect and Protect Your Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students”
Main Claim:
This article is a compilation of responses given by LGBTQ+ students on ways they feel educators can improve school environments. LGBTQ+ students believe there are a variety of ways in which educators can encourage acceptance and safer school environments so that these students can thrive academically.
Subclaim 1: LGBT students believe that educators should examine the language used by students in reference to sexual minorities and ensure it is not degaratory, even if it is just a “joke”
Evidence in the form of informational quotations with page numbers:
Quotation 1: “When youth feel safe and protected by an adult at school, it can make the difference between dropping out or graduating. Students learn more, make better grades, and have enhanced emotional well-being when the adults in their schools stand up for their right to learn free of verbal and physical harassment.” (Young 9)
o My explanation/interpretation/discussion: When educators work to ensure a safe and accepted environment in school, youths feel better at school and will perform better, both academically and mentally.
Quotation 2: “AMANDA: I think that they should make it a policy — intervening at least. Even though some people might not agree with being gay, it’s like their words are still hurting somebody and it’s putting somebody in the classroom, you don’t know who it could be, in an unsafe feeling.” (9)
o My Explanation/interpretation/discussion- This is one of the respondent’s answers to the interview’s question. It is a student who is encouraging teachers to at least intervene in the event that language could make someone comfortable.
Subclaim 2: Educators should recognize that even heterosexual students can suffer in an environment that is hostile to LGBTQ+ students.
Quotation 1: “For every lesbian, gay, bisexual, or gender nonconforming youth who is bullied, four straight students who are perceived to be nonstraight are bullied, according to the 2002 National Mental Health Association’s survey, "What Does Gay Mean?" That figure alone should give us pause. A climate in which intolerance of any kind flourishes puts undue pressure on all students. The choice is stark: Either hide one’s own differences, or risk standing up against peers in conflict. Increasingly, students are incredulous when teachers stay neutral.” (10)
My explanation/interpretation/discussion: For every LGBTQ+ student that is bullied for their sexual orientation, there are four straight students who people believe to be a sexual minority that are also bullied. This type of environment forces students, no matter what their sexual orientation may be, make a choice between hiding their individual differences or risk being bullied when they try to be themselves.
Quotation 2: “DESHAUN: I have to stand up for my people when people start calling them out. And when the teacher says nothing, I’m like, “Miss? What? Are you ignoring this mess? Someone is being stepped on here for who they are and that is not right.” (10)
My explanation/interpretation/discussion: Students are beginning to stand up for their friends and their peers when they are bullied or harassed for their sexual orientation, meanwhile teachers ignore the issue. What this shows is an increased advocacy among students in order to stand up for the rights of their fellow students who may be of a sexual minority.
Subclaim 3: Finally, LGBTQ+ students believe that by incorporating LGBT issues and movements into academia, it will empower LGBT students to feel better about their orientation.
Quotation 1: “It’s one thing to say, ‘Don’t bully the gay kids.’ But it’s another thing to tell students, ‘You can be a leader, you can support your friends, and you can stand up for the rights of others anywhere you go’” (10)
My explanation/interpretation/discussion: Instead of teaching students not to bully LGBTQ+ students, educators should be focused on telling students to stand up for them and their rights and to make positive impact on the society.
Quotation 2: “ALEX B: The school needs programs that teach openness starting in the 1st or 2nd grade about other sexualities and it being OK, so students do not develop that, ‘It’s different and bad’ mindset.” (10)
My explanation/interpretation/discussion: If we start teaching students at a young age that being gay is okay and it should be accepted, then it will help prevent stigma against gay people to develop later in life.
How does this source help answer my research question? How does it compare/contrast to other sources? How does it change or expand my ideas about my topic?
This source was helpful to my research question because of how it had direct opinions from LGBTQ+ students and how they feel the field of education needs to address bullying and discrimination in school. These direct opinions help to add realism and relatability to my research paper. It also opened my mind to how an anti-LGBT climate can affect heterosexual students as well, which I want to expand my research into more now so that I can show how these problems affect everyone.
Source #3: School engagement among LGBTQ high school students: The roles of safe adults and gay–straight alliance characteristics
MLA/APA Citation:
Seelman, Kristie L., et al. “School Engagement among LGBTQ High School Students: The Roles of Safe Adults and Gay–Straight Alliance Characteristics.”Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 57, 2015, pp. 19–29. Elsevier SD Freedom Collection, doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.07.021
Author/Journal Qualifications:
Dr. Kristie L. Seelman and Nicholas Forge are Assistant Professors at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. N. Eugene Walls is a professor at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. Nadine Bridges works at Rainbow Alley, which is a GLBT Community Center of Colorado.
Main Claim:
The aim of this study was to examine how the presence of safe adults and gay-straight alliances can influence the development and growth of a high school LGBTQ+ adolescent. It was shown that safe adults are more effective in bringing safer environments for LGBTQ+ students.
Subclaim 1: High school environment and adolescence is an important period of time and development for LGBTQ+ youths and it can affect their self-acceptance.
Evidence in the form of informational quotations with page numbers:
Quotation 1: Adolescence is a key period of development for LGBTQ+ youth, as many individuals in the U.S. begin to develop a sense of their sexuality and/or gender identity during this time of their lives (Seelman 19)
o My explanation/interpretation/discussion: Adolescence is an important time in a youth’s life as it is when a youth begins to develop there sense of self in their life and begin to figure out who they are. This is also the time when they begin developing their sense of sexuality or their gender identity. Much of adolescence is spent in schools, so schools are an important environment for these students as they begin to discover themselves.
Quotation 2: As reported by the Institute of Medicine, early research on LGBTQ young people has indicated that “coming out” during this time period can present many challenges due to the prevalence of societal homophobia and transphobia and their negative effects on adolescents. Since many youth go through adolescence and the associated developmental tasks while in high school, such settings are a key place of socialization and exposure to ecological factors that may affect the development of LGBTQ youth (20)
o My Explanation/interpretation/discussion- Youths who do come out during adolescence and in high school have been presented with many challenges due to homophobia and transphobia that may be present in their environments. These have caused negative effects on the development of LGBTQ+ youths. As such, high school settings are a key place of socialization and they can be important places in the development on these youths.
Subclaim 2: The role of safe adults can play a vital role in ensuring safe school environments
Quotation 1: “Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) found that while three quarters of LGBT students had been verbally harassed in their school, over half (57%) had failed to report the incident to school staff, mostly due to their not believing that any action would be taken” (20)